


Tears of the Devil

by Talyeni



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Major Character Injury, Medical Trauma, Psychological Trauma, possible triggers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:13:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29151804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talyeni/pseuds/Talyeni
Summary: Lucifer gets a call for help from Trixie...but not in the usual way.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar, Ella Lopez & Lucifer Morningstar, Eve/Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Mazikeen & Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Trixie Espinoza/Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV)
Comments: 95
Kudos: 232





	1. Bad Dream, Babe?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! This one has been rattling around in my brain for about 2 weeks now. 
> 
> I will be adding tags and trigger warnings as I go on this one. 
> 
> Please don't worry...I love these characters with my heart and soul and will bring them safely through the storm.
> 
> But there might be some tears along the way.
> 
> NOTE: Set in season 4. After Eve arrives and has moved into Lucifer's penthouse, but exactly when to be determined. (These characters LOVE to throw me curveballs!!!) 
> 
> No archive warnings apply at this point, but this may change.

Lucifer sat bolt upright in bed, completely awake and annoying, suddenly sober.

His head was ringing from the force of the single word that had broken his sleep. His name, screamed straight into his head, full of fear, but not fear of him.

The urchin.Beatrice. Trixie. Praying and crying to him so loudly that he would have heard it at the edges of the universe, at the end of all the worlds.

Eve had been woken by his sudden movement and reached out him, delicate hands tracing seductive patterns on his legs."Bad dream, babe?" She purred softly, "Come here and let me make everything better." 

Lucifer roughly pushed her hands away and got out of bed,searching for pants and a shirt. Eve's forehead wrinkled into a slight frown,Tossing her waterfall of ebony hair back, she curled her lips down into a seductive pout as she rose to her knees on the bed and reached for Lucifer's hips.

"Not now, Eve!" He growled. Ignoring the warning in his voice, Eve lunged forward and wrapped her arms around her waist. 

Lucifer spun on the spot in her embrace and pushed her away from him with such force that she was thrown across the bed, landing heavily on the floor. "I said not NOW!" His voice was loud enough to vibrate the glass windows and his eyes were shifting like a lightning storm caught between warm brown and crimson.

A second cry reached Lucifer then, a spike of fear laced pain that buried itself into his very soul.

Dressed in only dress slacks and a wrinkled burgundy shirt, Lucifer ran barefooted to the balcony, unfurled his wings and launched himself into the sky.

_I hear you urchin. I'm on my way_ , he thought furiously, willing the message to find her.


	2. I Knew You Would Hear Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer answers Trixie's call for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am completely blown away on the feedback on this fic........will try to update frequently, but you may have to put up with short chapters!!! 
> 
> I have loved the relationship between Trixie and Lucifer from the moment they met...looking forward to exploring it in my own way.

High above the Los Angeles skyline, Lucifer stopped his rapid ascent.Hovering, he closed his eyes and focused solely on the cry in his head, orienting on the unsteady pulses of fear, pain and desperate hope that emanated from Beatrice.

He located her in the vast city below him, bathed in late morning sunlight that filtered softly through occasional clouds and he arrowed downwards, moving towards her with a speed no radar on Earth could hope to track.

One moment he was in the sky, the next he was standing in an empty classroom.

Tables with built in wooden cabinets underneath and glossy black tops stood in silent ranks, two by two.The cry sounding in his mind came from behind one of the tables at the back of the room.

He approached the table slowly, frightened of what he would find.

Terrified of what he would see.

The urchin lay crumpled on the floor behind the table, blood soaking through her clothes.

Her eyes were closed tight, skin around them tensed with concentration, sending her thoughts, her prayers out into the universe with only one goal.

To reach him.

The Devil himself.

He was at her side in a moment, gathering her into his arms, his wings arched around her, determined to protect her at all costs.

She blinked once. Twice.

Focused on his face, his eyes.

And she smiled.

"I knew you would hear me.I knew you would come." Her trembling fingers wrapped around his hand.Her voice was soft, but full of trust, full of love.

A voice echoed in Lucifer's thoughts.

"Keep pressure on the wound."

I am.......

Stripping his half buttoned burgundy shirt off, he pressed it to the wound he found in the urchin's shoulder.

The very same place where her mother had been shot.

Trixie's eyes had fluttered closed again and Lucifer felt his heart sink.

There was so much blood.

Lucifer forced himself to look away from the blood, focusing solely on her face.

"Beatrice, can you hear me?" He asked softly, cradling her against his chest, heedless of the blood staining his designer slacks.

Trixie nodded, a vague smile on her lips. Her eyelids opened slightly and her eyes seemed to focus, staring at something behind Lucifer's head.

She giggled, but it was a faint echo of her normal childlike glee. "Why,....." she started, then paused and took a shallow breath. "Why do your wings looks like a plucked chicken?"

Lucifer twitched, but barely spared a glance behind him. All of his attention was on Beatrice, determined not to let her slip away. 

But that glance had been enough,

His wings, which he had neglected to unfurl after landing, were not his luminescent angel wings they had been when he had last seen them.

They were the wings of a devil. Of a monster.

He had not dared to look at them since killing Pierce. Since killing Cain.

But that could wait.

Nothing mattered now except the child that lay in his arms, the child that had prayed to the Devil for help.

And he had answered.


	3. Three Teaspoons of Sugar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe at the precinct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, I am completely blown away by the feedback on this one. 
> 
> Another short chapter, but these are all set up ones....they will get longer as we get going. 
> 
> For those that wanted Chloe to be in this fic....here she is. (That was always the plan!!!)
> 
> NOTE: This is where the trigger warning may kick in for some people.

Chloe sat at her desk, doggedly working away on the paperwork for her latest case. 

Her first solo case since she had met Lucifer.Since everything had gone, well, since everything had gone to hell.

Everything about the case had felt wrong and it had been all she could do to stop herself from picking up the phone and texting him, calling him.

Begging Lucifer to come back. 

Sighing, she dropped her head into her hands, gently rubbing the spot on her forehead just between her eyes where a migraine was threatening to form. 

Standing up her chair Chloe stretched, closing her eyes to avoid seeing empty chair sitting next to her desk. Blinking and yawning, she walked to the kitchen and made herself a cup of what the precinct loosely called "coffee."

More like industrial strength acid if you asked her.

God, did she miss the perfect coffee that had arrived every morning without fail along with her devilish consultant.

It was all her fault, but it still hurt too deeply to even think about trying to figure out how to fix things with Lucifer.Like an ignored infection, it grew daily until it was a monster that haunted her dreams and her days.

Her betrayal.The hurt in his eyes when he realised she had lied to him, realised that she had at least considering helping send him back to Hell.

Wincing at the taste of the bitter contents of her mug that not even three teaspoons of sugar could hide, she sat back down at her desk and stared at her cell phone wishing she had the courage to message him and ask him to meet with her to......to what exactly?

Have a drink?

Talk?

Shaking her head to clear it, she refocused on the stack of paperwork in front of her and picked up her pen.

Losing herself in the nuances of the report, her focus was so intense that the first call over the precinct speakers didn't even register. Nor did the second.

The third finally pierced the bubble she had formed around herself and her blood froze, heart pounding with dread as the message penetrated.

An active shooter. At a local high school.Possibly more than one. 

Chloe raced for her cruiser.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Further note as to Trigger Warning - 
> 
> I am not writing about a school shooting just to cause pain. 
> 
> I was actually at a high school in the early 80's where we had someone come into our school with a gun because his girlfriend had broken up with him. 
> 
> I believe it is a topic that needs to be talked about even when there has NOT been a recent occurrence. 
> 
> We don't seem to be learning from our mistakes. 
> 
> I will handle things sensitively, but just be aware.


	4. I Give You My Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Police arrive at the school and Lucifer has to make a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. 
> 
> Truly not sure about this chapter, starting to get into areas which are WAY out of my comfort zone. 
> 
> Feedback is welcome and appreciated. 
> 
> This chapter may end up being longer, but really wanted to get this section out there and see what people think.

Not long after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut had occurred, the LAPD had put together a detailed response plan to be put into action when any active shooters were reported at a school.

Not if, when. And when it occurred, everyone regardless of rank or assignment was to respond.

When Chloe arrived at the high school, there were already several dozen officers on the scene.

Carmel High School had only been in existence for a few years and was built in an open plan fashion, buildings housing multiple classrooms radiating out in loose circles with a large, grassy quad in the centre.

A logistical nightmare with too many entries and exits, not to mention hiding places.

Groups of students were clustered around the far edges of the parking lot.As Chloe rushed towards the main entrance and the officers who had arrived first on the scene, the forlorn wail of an ambulance sounded in the distance, growing louder.

***

Lucifer heard the approach of the ambulance well before the humans did.

He knew there was no logical way to explain his presence at the scene.He had to leave before someone found him there, but Trixie was unresponsive in his arms, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow. 

"Beatrice, I need you to wake up and listen to me," Lucifer said, hoping that his voice sounded calmer than he felt.Her eyes blinked open slowly. 

"Help is on the way, I can hear the police and an ambulance downstairs, but I....," his voice shook as he thought about abandoning the urchin when she needed him most. "I have to leave you."

Trixie reached out, her fingers giving his hand the faintest squeeze. "Cause otherwise everyone will know you're the Devil, right?" She whispered so softly that he could barely hear her. Lucifer nodded, tears forming in his eyes.Her heartbeat was so faint and ragged.

_Can you still hear me?_ he asked silently, sending his thoughts to her and her alone.

_Yep, sure can_.Her reply came instantly, as clearly as if she had spoken the words aloud.

He pressed her hands against his crumpled shirt and held it tight against her wound. Hurried footsteps sounded in the hall outside.Coming closer.

_Go_. Her mind whispered to his. _But keep talking to me._

_Always,_ he promised. _I give you my word._

And he went.

But the connection between them remained, a silent communication of heart and soul, a single shining thread that Trixie held onto as the darkness closed in.


	5. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe arrives at the school where the shooters are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, sorry for the delay in posting. Been a rough week here in RL. 
> 
> Nervous about this chapter, really leaping into the deep end and way outside of my comfort zone. 
> 
> Let me know what you think.
> 
> WARNING: Angst and pain ahead.

Chloe swallowed heavily as she reached the knot of officers gathered near the SWAT van by the main entrance to the school.Her heart was racing and she felt sick. 

Her worst nightmares involved school shootings.

Images of Trixie lying in a pool of blood.Or one of her friends. 

Images that would wake her up in sweat soaked sheets, stifling her screams.

But Trixie wasn't here. 

She was safe.

Chloe took a deep, calming breath and introduced herself to the officer in charge, a tall man with a tan and dark hair that was greying at the temples."Detective Decker, homicide.How can I help and what do we know so far about the situation?"

Situation seemed like a horribly inadequate word to describe the scene unfolding around them.

He shook her hand. "Sergeant Henderson, I wish we could have met under better circumstances but I'm glad to have you here. We can use all the help we can get." The skin around his pale blue eyes was tight with strain."We received initial reports of three active shooters, but it's unclear if they're still on school grounds. We're in the process of sweeping room to room and making sure all the kids are accounted for."

Just as he finished speaking another group of students appeared from between the buildings, being shepherded by a teacher and several officers.

They looked so young, too young to be witnesses to this horror, this evil.

Sergeant Henderson followed her gaze, his face gone pale. "This is going to be rough.Apparently there was a group of kids visiting today from a middle school. Some kind of program for their best science students, meant to be a 'reward'." He laughed darkly. "Some reward."

_Oh, god_. Chloe fought against the panic rising in her chest that threatened to choke off her breath. 

Two weeks ago, she had barely looked at the permission slip that Trixie had waved excitedly in front of her before signing it. As a special treat for the students in her grade that excelled in science, they had been invited to a high school for a day.They would get to sit in on classes in biology, physics and chemistry.

Trixie had been over the moon, especially about the chemistry class.

At that moment, three paramedics emerged from between two of the buildings, a gurney bearing a small body between them, a spill of dark brown hair just visible between the equipment and the paramedics struggling to stabilise her vitals.

Hair the same brown with a touch of red colour as Trixie's, with the same waves.

_Oh, God.Please no,_ she thought blindly, panic stealing her voice and her ability to move.

Sergeant Henderson had placed a hand on her shoulder, his worried tone sounding in her ear, but she couldn't make sense of the words. 

Chloe's heart and time seemed to stop as the gurney moved even with them and she saw Trixie's unnaturally still face underneath the oxygen mask. 

A sob ripped from her throat and she collapsed to the ground, loose bits of asphalt grinding into her knees.She reached into the inside pocket of her jacket fumbling for her phone.Henderson hadn't needed to be told who the girl on the gurney must be, the grief on Chloe's face was plain.He helped her to her feet, but she lost her grip on her phone and it fell, screen spiderwebbing on impact with the parking lot surface.

Henderson held onto her arm while he reached down for the phone just as it is began to buzz insistently.He held it out for Chloe and she read the incoming text message through tear blurred eyes and a screen that mirrored her heart.Shattered.

The text was from Lucifer, brief and to the point.

I _'m on my way._


	6. I'm Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer arrives at the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. 
> 
> This is my second attempt at this section of the fic, I had first written this as an extension of chapter 5, but I wasn't happy with it. 
> 
> Let me know what you think, happy to hear any suggestions or constructive criticism!

There was no room for Chloe in the ambulance.She knew that she would only get in the way and that Trixie needed the help of the paramedics more than she needed her mother right now.

It didn't stop her from begging, from pleading.

Even though her brain knew it was for the best, her heart refused to listen.

Sergeant Henderson wrapped her in a blanket the paramedics had given him and gently coaxed her to sit down on one of the benches surrounding the lunch quad. 

The quad where any other day, students would be laughing, eating lunch or studying for an upcoming test.

Chloe wasn't responding to his voice, her eyes were fixed into the distance, unblinking.The tears had ceased, but they had left tangles of grey tracks under her eyes. 

The throaty roar of a powerful V8 engine and the squeal of tires jerked Henderson's attention towards the parking lot. A black Corvette driven by a dark haired woman pulled up at the curb and before the car had even come to a complete stop the tall man in the passenger seat was out of the car and moving towards them.

Henderson scowled and barked at the nearest uniform, angry that protocol had been broken and civilians had been allowed onto the scene. 

The man reached the bench in moments, his long strides covering the ground before anyone could react.One look into his eyes and Henderson found himself rethinking his approach. 

Pain and worry burned in the man's eyes, his whole attention was focused on Detective Decker.He dropped to his knees in front of her and took her hands in his."Chloe, I'm here," he said in a gentle British accent. 

His voice broke through her shocked trance and she blinked slowly, her blue-green eyes tinged with red. "Lucifer?" She whispered as her shaking fingers entwined with his.

Hearing the man's name, Henderson understood exactly why civilians had been let onto the crime scene.

There wasn't a cop in Los Angeles that hadn't heard about the unorthodox partnership between Detective Chloe Decker and the maybe delusional, maybe insane but definitely rich, charming and handsome club owner named Lucifer Morningstar.

Henderson's eyes connected with Lucifer's as he stood andmotioned for Lucifer to take his place by the detective's side.

Without taking his hands out of hers, Lucifer straightened up and sat down on the bench next to Detective Decker, wrapping his arms around you. Chloe leaned into his embrace, feeling his presence next to her like a promise. 

A promise that everything would be okay.


	7. She's Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Chloe at the hospital waiting for Trixie to come out of surgery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems short chapters are all I can write at the moment. 
> 
> But at least I'm writing. 
> 
> Sometimes it seems like if I don't post what I write...I won't post at all. 
> 
> Hope everyone is enjoying the story even though it is dark right now.
> 
> I promise light before the end.

Chloe had long since lost all sense of time passing.

The hours since Trixie had been taken into surgery had stretched into a blurred kaleidoscope of meaningless names, faces and the worn upholstery of the chair underneath her in the waiting room. 

She was dimly aware that Lucifer was next to her, a brief hint of his cologne lingered in her nose and she could feel his warmth along her left side.

Waiting with her for the doctor to appear. To either give them hope or crush their souls. 

Chloe's eyes were fixed on the wall in front of her, on the spot where the flaking greenish blue paint had started peeling next to the door that led farther into the hospital. 

Farther into the labyrinth where Trixie was alone, in the hands of the doctors.

And all Chloe could do was pray.

Except she couldn't pray. Pray to a God, to a Father who would cast out his own son, condemn him to a life of pain and rejection.

A son who was sitting next to her. Silent, asking nothing, offering only his support if wanted it was wanted.

She wanted his care and his comfort more that she needed to breathe.But she was afraid to ask.She had betrayed him, assumed the worst.Listened to the lies told by someone who didn't know him and had never met him.

"She's not alone," a soft voice said next to her, almost as if he had heard her thoughts. "I'm with Beatrice, talking to her."A warm hand, much larger than her own found hers and held it gently."And she to me."

Chloe turned her head, tears starting to bead at the corner of her eyes. "You can hear her?" She whispered.

Lucifer nodded as Chloe's fingers tightened around his."Beatrice prayed to me when she was afraid." He swallowed thickly."That singular call opened a link between us.One I have never experienced in my very long life." 

Chloe sobbed as her emotions caught up to her, surged through her like fire."Trixie prayed? To you?"

"Apparently, she believed in me since the moment we met,"Lucifer said gently as he wrapped his right arm around Chloe."When I told her my name, she accepted it completely." His voice was quiet, wondering at the trust given without question.

Chloe felt the weight of the vial in her hand, the moment she had almost poisoned Lucifer."Lucifer, I.....," she stopped, unsure what to say, how to repair the damage.

"Shhh," Lucifer soothed, his voice deep and comforting. "Time for talk later." He pulled her closer, the sharp angles of the chair arms between them digging into his side."Rest now.I'll wake you when there is news."


	8. Time to leave, I think.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan arrives at the hospital.

"Where is she?" Dan's voice, harsh with guilt and worry sounded in the waiting room. His hands gripped the edges of the reception desk as he repeated his question to the tired looking nurse behind the desk, his voice growing louder and more desperate. "Where is my daughter?"

"And just where in Hell have you been, Detective Douche?" Lucifer asked quietly without rising from his chair.

"I was on a stakeout.You know the rules." Dan snapped, running his fingers through his hair. "Even if I'll be damned if you've ever followed them."His lip curled into an ugly snarl."You shouldn't be here. Trixie is my daughter in case you've forgotten, not yours!"

"Hence I requested the precinct send a message to the team you were assisting," Lucifer continued quietly but his words were laced with venom, "and ask that you contact me immediately regarding an emergency situation."

Disturbed by the sound of raised voices after the hours of almost complete silence, Chloe muttered in her sleep, eyelids fluttering. 

Dan focused his gaze on Lucifer, the hatred and resentment he harboured blossoming into a poisonous flower, thorns digging into his soul. "Get away from her now!" His voice rose to a yell as he crossed the room.

Chloe's eyes opened wide just as Dan reached them, his hands landing on her shoulders, trying to separate her from Lucifer. Chloe reacted on instinct, her right hand closing into a fist and landing a solid punch on Dan's jaw that sent him reeling backwards. 

Dan's eyes were hurt, wild, stunned at her attack.Lucifer stood up, placing himself between them. 

"Time to leave, I think," he said darkly as his eyes kindled,near dead embers reigniting from cold coals.His focus centred on Dan, the rest of the room, the nurse, even Chloe fading into the background, lost in a rush of emotions.

Emotions that danced in his eyes like tongues of flame.

Dan stopped.And looked.

And believed.


	9. Feather and Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella stumbles across a mystery in the lab, Dan arrives at the precinct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evening all. 
> 
> I've ran into a bit of a block writing anything Lucifer related with all the "goodbye" and "last" posts this week. 
> 
> Then I figured...what the hell, what's a bit more pain? 
> 
> Hope you like the latest chapter.

Ella's gloved fingers shook as she removed the crumpled, blood-soaked piece of clothing from the evidence bag. 

She had been given a brief rundown of the situation and her supervisor had asked if she was willing to accept the assignment, if she was able to remain objective and calm.To disconnect from her emotions as she had been trained.

She had answered yes, without hesitation. 

Now, seeing Trixie's blood on the piece of ruined clothing in front of her she wasn't so sure.

Staying objective was easy. 

Separating the evidence in front of her from the little girl, fighting for her life - a little girl she knew and loved was harder if not damned near impossible.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and spread out the piece of clothing, blood that had not quite dried leaking onto the stainless steel surface of the table.

Ella steeled herself against the metallic smell of the blood that wafted like an echo of pain off the man's button-down dress shirt on the table in front of her.

Ella blinked. 

Yep, definitely a man's button-down dress shirt. Stained mostly blackish brown by the drying blood it might have originally been maroon or maybe burgundy.

_What the hell?_

She grabbed the evidence bag, double checking case file number and date, location. 

Everything matched, this was definitely from the Carmel High School shooting. Trixie had been found with this shirt clutched to the wound in her according to the preliminary report on her desk.

Even heavy with partially dried blood, the fabric had a flow, a graceful drape to it that rippled across her fingers as she examined the shirt carefully, searching for clues.

There was no tag in the collar as was standard with men's dress shirts.

Along the seem along the bottom of the right front shirttail, Ella found a hand embroidered tag. However, instead of a recognisable brand name and care instructions on the reserve,the tag had bore only a red and black symbol that might have been a feather or a flame. 

The only other clue was an elaborate monogram comprised of two entwined letters that looked suspiciously like "L" and "M".

Ella shook her head. Damn it, maybe her supervisor was right and she was too close to this case.Those letters could not possibly mean what she thought they did.

She finished her examination of the shirt and packed it carefully back into the evidence bag after photographing it and the enigmatic tag.

Ella cleaned the surface of the table with disinfectant without noticing what she was doing, lost in trying to unravel her mystery.Deciding that coffee was definitely needed, she left her lab and headed over to the small kitchen area, trying not to look at Chloe's empty desk as she crossed the open plan office.

She made her coffee, losing count of the number of teaspoons of sugar she added, her mind still puzzling over the burgundy shirt. Sipping her coffee, she winced at the bitter taste. 

Ella had become too used to the barista cappuccino Lucifer brought her each morning, complete with caramel syrup, rainbow sprinkles and way too much whipped cream.

She frowned as she walked back into the lab and picked up her camera, connecting it to the computer and downloading the images of the shirt.

Bringing up the photo of the tag and its embroidered symbol, she opened up a fresh Google page and did an image search for matches.

The computer hummed softly, the only sound in the lab.Ella had no heart to listen to music, no wish to be happy. 

The search completed and there was one match. Ella clicked on the link and found herself on a website named "Piuma e Fiamma".From the sparse text on the homepage, it looked to be Italian and from the photos, she assumed it was a high end fashion brand, though she had never heard of it.

Pressing the translate button yielded the name "Feather and Flame", an address and phone number in Italy and only one other line of text, "Price on Application." 

The door to her lab slammed open and she jumped, spilling coffee all over herself, cursing the department and their belief that scalding hot water could make up for cheap coffee.

"What the hell Dan?" Ella exclaimed as he practically ran into the lab, his eyes wild, his breathing harsh as he crossed to her desk and pulled open the drawer, rummaging in it. "It's all true," he said in a rush as tears started to run down his cheeks, "he really is the Devil." 

"Whoa, Dan, slow down," Ella said, joining him at the desk but he didn't look at her, continuing to search through the drawer. "You're in shock dude.Anyone would be after what's happened."

Dan turned to face her,her gold cross, dangling on its slender chain.The cross she hadn't worn in weeks, angry at "the big guy" over Charlotte's death.

"Put it on," he said and pressed the necklace into her hand and covered it with his own, tears starting to run down his cheeks. "Maybe it can keep you safe from him."

"Safe?" Ella asked. "From who?"

"Who do you think?" Dan snapped, voice rising."From Lucifer. From the actual fucking Devil." His voice was tinged with hysteria. "All this time, we never believed him and today, at the hospital.He was so angry," Dan's voice dropped to a whisper. "And his eyes, they changed."

"Dan...," Ella started but he cut her off with a pained laugh.

"You don't believe me, of course you don't.Who would?" Dan dropped the cross onto the floor before running his hands through his hair, shoulders shaking. 

"I have to go," Dan said quickly."It's not safe for me here." He shivered. "He'll come after me.I saw it in his eyes.The hatred, the evil."

Before Ella could stop him, he bolted for the door and through the bullpen, ignoring the raised voices of concerned officers that witnessed his abrupt departure. 

Ella picked up her phone and brought up Chloe's private number in her contact list.

Lucifer answered on the first ring.

"What are you doing with Chloe's phone?" Ella asked, her voice sharper than she meant it to be.

"The Detective is exhausted, Miss Lopez," Lucifer said quietly. "I finally managed to convince her to get a few hours sleep by promising that I would answer her phone and wake her up immediately if it was important." His voice was sad, worried. "Has there been a development in the case?"

"I guess that's one way of putting it." Ella said in a wobbly tone. She took a deep breath. "I think we need to talk. Now."

"Miss Lopez, I am not going to leave either the urchin's side or the Detective's." Lucifer's voice was solemn. "I gave my word."

Ella refused to be denied. "Then I'm on my way over, you better still be there when I get there. Or else."

"I will be here," Lucifer promised and ended the call.Chloe stirred in her sleep in the chair next to him, but did not wake.

In her lab, Ella picked up the delicate gold chain with shaking fingers and looked at the tiny cross for a long moment before tucking it back into her desk drawer. 

Grabbing her keys and stuffing the evidence bag containing the burgundy shirt into her oversized bag, she headed for the parking garage, heart pounding loudly in her ears.


End file.
